This invention in general relates to telecommunication services and implementations, and specifically relates to a method and system for billing an off-net user for use of telecom services provided by telecom carriers. Exemplary telecom services comprise the activity of replying to and forwarding a Voice short messaging service (Voice SMS) message received by an off-net user.
Consider a first user subscribing to a first network that provides Voice short messaging services (Voice SMS). The first user may send a Voice SMS message to a second user subscribing to a second network using the number of the second user's device. A Voice SMS server of the first network in communication with a short messaging service center (SMSC) of the first network notifies the second user of the Voice SMS message with a number or a link that the second user can use to retrieve the Voice SMS message. A reply or forward from the second user is a desirable feature for an effective communication between the users. When the second user opts to reply to or forward the Voice SMS message, the reply or forward Voice SMS message is routed through the Voice SMS server of the first network. In such a case, the SMSC of the first network sends the message, but the first network may not be able to bill the second user for the reply message. The Voice SMS server of the first network is not able to bill the second user since the second user subscribes to a different network. Thus, there is a need for effectively charging the second user to pay for the reply feature, and distributing this payment to the network operators involved.